She shook her head, then winced at the dull throb of her temples. “Asher didn’t bite me. He said he was going to bring me to the hospital, but instead, after I passed out from a concussion, he took me home with him and looked after me all night. It wasn’t until this morning when I woke up that things really got weird, ending with me locked in his bedroom.”
Michael choked on his gasp. “That’swhen things started to get weird? Go on, then. I’m all ears.”
“He saw my birthmark.”
“You mean your Breedmate mark,” her friend corrected helpfully.
She scowled. “Don’t call me that. It’s only a birthmark, unless I wake up one day and decide I want to have little vampire babies or something. Which I won’t, and I don’t.”
Michael shrugged. “That mark is also the only reason you managed to escape from inside a locked room, am I right? That handy little Breedmate talent of yours for manipulating metal gears and magnetics. That same one you’ve been using to finesse jackpots out of casino slots and roulette wheels for about as long as I’ve known you.” He chuckled. “Is that how you hijacked your Good Samaritan’s truck out there too?”
“I didn’tfinessethe truck,” she muttered. “I didn’t have to, because I found the keys left on the kitchen table.”
Which didn’t excuse the fact that she stole Asher’s truck. Stealing money from Leo Slater was one thing she’d never apologize for, but she couldn’t deny the pang of guilt she carried knowing she’d taken something from Asher when all he’d done was help her.
“As for being a Good Samaritan,” she added, “I wouldn’t go that far, Michael. Good Samaritans return lost wallets without taking any of the cash. Good Samaritans walk old ladies across busy streets, and volunteer at food banks. They don’t murder three gangsters in cold blood over a woman they don’t even know. They don’t insist that they’re honor-bound to protect someone just because of some silly birthmark, then proceed to make arrangements to ship said person off to a vampire safe house God knows where like I’m a piece of furniture or a prized sow.”
“He did all that?”
She nodded tightly. “He told the Order about me, for fuck’s sake. If I hadn’t split, later tonight I’d be dealing with not only Asher but any number of Order warriors intent on guarding my life because of some antiquated moral code.”
“Your badass Breed hero knows the Order?”
Naomi shot him a flat stare. “You don’t have to act so impressed with him, you know.”
“He saved your life, darling. Of course, I’m impressed. And I’m damned grateful to him.”
Naomi smiled at her friend, warmed by his affection.
And she supposed if she slowed herself down and gave her outrage a minute to cool, there was a part of her that couldn’t help being more than a little intrigued with Asher too. She had so many questions about him. So much she wanted to know, like how he’d met his friend Ned and what he’d been doing with his life before that time.
She had seen a hauntedness in his deep blue eyes. A pain she could not name. Maybe all she saw was the wounds of his unique gift—his curse to experience all the anguish and distress of whomever he touched. What must that be like for him, day in and day out? How did he cope with a lifetime full of such memories? She wanted to know, wanted to ask him all of these things and so much more.
Not the least of which being why, if he was so willing to protect her life, did he not already have a Breedmate of his own?
Michael reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “If I ever see this Asher of yours, I mean to thank him for saving my best friend.”
“Asher’s not my anything,” she grumbled, getting up from the sofa. “And if I’m lucky I’ll never have to see him again.”
Michael’s brows lifted. “Oh, sweet sister from another mister. He’s a hottie with a body, isn’t he?”
She wanted to laugh, but she was too busy fighting off a sudden wash of heat. She could literally feel the blood rushing to her cheeks as an unwanted image of Asher’s muscled bulk and ruggedly handsome face took form in her mind’s eye.
He was more than hot. He was unearthly masculine and easily the most arousing man she’d ever seen.Breed, she corrected herself. She wasn’t quite prepared to think of him as simply a man, let alone one she could be attracted to. Especially after he pulled that caveman routine on her this morning. Regardless of how noble his intentions might have been.
“I think the word you’re looking for is psychotic,” she said, and headed into the kitchen, desperate for some water—or maybe a stiff drink. “And anyway, it doesn’t matter what I think about Asher. I’ve got bigger things to think about—namely my next move with Leo Slater.”
Michael rolled into the room after her. All of his humor and teasing faded at the mention of Slater. “What are you talking about, your next move? Naomi, siphoning off some of Casino Moda’s profits might have seemed like a hoot and a half when you first started this game of yours, but shit got serious last night. You almost got killed.”
She filled a glass of water from the tap and downed it, then shrugged. “I landed on my feet.”
“Barely. Have you seen yourself? You’re full of scrapes and bruises.” He hissed a quiet curse, shaking his head. “If not for the mercy of a stranger—a Breed male who by your own description could have just as easily turned on you last night—odds are you’d be lying under a pile of dirt somewhere in the Mojave right now.”
“It’s not about me. It’s about justice, Michael. It’s about making sure no kid who comes through our door ever has to be turned away because we’re out of beds or out of food. It’s about taking something from a powerful, corrupt asshole like Leo Slater and giving it to someone who really needs it. Someone who deserves it.”
Michael let out a slow sigh. “No, Naomi. It’s about your mother. It’s about what Slater did to her. I know you want to do right for these kids, but this is about vengeance for you. And if you’re not careful, you’re going to end up just like your mom. Missing and presumed dead at Slater’s hands.”
It hurt, hearing him say that. Not because he was wrong, but because he knew her better than anyone ever had. As much as she wanted to provide for the kids growing up on the streets abandoned and terrified as she had after her mother’s disappearance, she was also out for blood.
